Indian shares end higher as metal stocks rally on demand hopes

BENGALURU: Indian shares snapped three sessions of losses to end higher on Thursday, as metal stocks hit record highs on expectations that strong infrastructure spending will fuel demand.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index ended 0.44% higher at 15,778.45 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.40% at 52,653.07.

The Nifty metal index hit a record high, rising as much as 5.7% before ending up 5.02%. Hindalco Industries ended up 10%, having posted its biggest intraday percentage gain since April 2020 earlier in the session, while Tata Steel settled 6.8% higher.

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"The demand for metals has been pretty strong, and aggressive expenditure towards infrastructure projects signal strong revival in consumption," said Gaurav Garg, head of research, CapitalVia Global Research, Indore.

Thursday's rally is not a one-off, and the coming quarters will see traction in metals based on strong demand, Garg said.

IT stocks gained 1.3%, led by Coforge Ltd, which posted higher profit and revenue earlier this week.

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (India) fell 0.9% and LIC Housing Finance declined 3.5% following their quarterly results.

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Shares of Maruti Suzuki fell as much as 3.2%, their biggest intraday percentage drop since April 19, after the country's top carmaker missed estimates for quarterly profit margins on Wednesday.

World stock markets were back on the climb on Thursday as the US Federal Reserve signalled it was in no rush to taper stimulus and reassurances from Beijing saw beaten-up Chinese stocks leap off the canvas.